Decision-making device and method

ABSTRACT

A decision-making device includes: a container having an opening, an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movably located inside the container, and a cover attached to the container to close the opening. The indicia include commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in poker: all-in, bet, call, check, fold, and raise.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/525,557, filed Sep. 23, 2006, entitled, “Poker Player Options Die”,as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/975,797, filed Oct. 22,2007, entitled, “Enclosed Poker Card Cover”, which itself claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/853,686, filedOct. 23, 2006, entitled, “Enclosed Poker Card Cover”, the disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

There are many games of chance where a player, at some point, has tomake a choice as to what their next move will be. These choices can bewhether or not to take another card during blackjack, to fold a handduring poker, to bet on red while playing roulette or any other optionswhile playing a game of chance. The description, “Game of Chance”,inherently states that at some point the player has to make a choicethat gives them a chance to win or lose, even if that choice is tosimply take part in the “Game of Chance”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Decision-Making Device and Method described herein (where the devicemay also be called “Enclosed Chamber of Chance”) offers players of thesegames options for making their next move. The problem solved by theEnclosed Chamber of Chance is that during any “Game of Chance” a playerhas a chance to win or lose; that chance is based on how the player usestheir available options in the game. In a “Game of Chance” skill andknowledge will not guarantee a winning result and players resolve togood luck and bad luck when analyzing the outcome of their chosenoption. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance will decide that option for them,right or wrong.

According to one embodiment, the Decision-Making Device and Methoddescribed herein provides poker players options as to what move to makewhile playing the game; it may be a standalone, single die with indiciarepresenting the words BET, FOLD, ALL IN, CALL, CHECK and RAISE.

According to one embodiment, the Decision-Making Device described hereinincludes an enclosure that is placed on top of a poker player's cardswhile they are in a hand. The device has an enclosed chamber, whereinsmall objects, i.e. coins, dice (die), small figurines, etc. could bepermanently placed.

The Decision-Making Device and Method described herein allow for aplurality of outcomes based on games of chance. In one design of thepresent invention, the Enclosed Chamber of Chance comprises anembodiment that has an object enclosed inside and a translucent ortransparent cover.

A preferred application of the Enclosed Chamber of Chance is to employit in a game of poker. During the regular play of a poker game (i.e.Texas Hold'em, Stud, Omaha), standard playing cards are dealt to all ofthe players and then each player takes a turn deciding what their nextmove will be with the cards they received. When it is their turn theplayer will be faced with several options. These options include atleast one or more of these indicia: BET, FOLD, ALL IN, CALL, CHECK andRAISE. When the dealer is ready for the player's turn, the player actswith one of these or other options. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance, inthis case, would have a 6-sided die that would have indicia representingthe above-mentioned options on it. The player would shake the preferredEnclosed Chamber of Chance and look inside to see what the die revealed.

Other applications are to employ the Enclosed Chamber of Chance in agame of Blackjack (also known as 21), wherein the preferred enclosedobject may have one or more of these and other indicia: HIT, STAY,DOUBLE DOWN, SURRENDER and SPLIT. Not all hands rely on a decision bythe player to take a chance, but for the hands that the player is unsureof the move the Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be employed. The abovedetailed methods of using the Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be employedin any “Game of Chance” where the enclosed object's indicia representthe available options to the player of that particular game.

While playing poker a player is dealt cards. During each round of playit is the player's obligation to protect his cards from being removed bythe dealer, this is known as having your cards “mucked”. The most commonway to protect a poker hand is to place a casino chip on top of thecards after they are placed back down on the table. The Enclosed Chamberof Chance can also be employed as a “card protector”, wherein the playerof a card game places the invention on their cards to keep the dealer orother players from taking the cards before the player has finishedplaying their hand.

As a form of entertainment, the player can use the Enclosed Chamber ofChance and either follows what the object inside reveals or makes his orher own choice as to what their next move is. There are no rules as tohow, when or where to use the Enclosed Chamber of Chance. It is designedas a novelty item for entertainment and no assertions are made as to thevalue of the “chance” outcome in relationship to the game that is beingplayed. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance offers options in a “Game ofChance” wherein there is a chance to win and chance to lose. The playermay play the way they want and might not rely on the outcome from theEnclosed Chamber of Chance.

The Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be used in board games where anelement of chance exists. In this case, or any other similarapplication, the object (e.g., die) does not need to be enclosed withinan embodiment. An example of this would be a game where the preferredobject is a die (or dice), which are rolled to present the player whichoptions that are applicable to the game that is being played.

According to an embodiment, a decision-making device comprises: acontainer having an opening; an object with indicia, the object havingat least two sides and movably located inside the container; and a coverattached to the container to close the opening, wherein the indiciaincludes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actionsin poker: all-in, bet, call check, fold, and raise.

The container may be substantially transparent. The container may besubstantially opaque and the cover may be substantially transparent. Thecontainer may be cylindrical in shape. Both ends of the cylindricalcontainer may comprise substantially transparent covers. In one aspect,exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantiallytransparent cover. The cover may be removably attached to the container.The object may be permanently enclosed inside the container.

A method of making a decision comprises: providing the decision-makingdevice as described herein; shaking the device; and causing the objectto move within the container. The method may include covering playingcards with the device.

According to any embodiment, a decision-making device comprises: acontainer having an opening; an object with indicia, the object havingat least two sides and movably located inside the container, and a coverattached to the container to close the opening, wherein the indiciaincludes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actionsin blackjack and roulette: hit, stand, double-down, split, red, black,odd, and even.

The container may be substantially transparent. The container may besubstantially opaque and the cover may be substantially transparent. Thecontainer may be cylindrical in shape. Both ends of the cylindricalcontainer may comprise substantially transparent covers. In one aspect,exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantiallytransparent cover. The cover may be removably attached to the container.The object may be permanently enclosed inside the container.

Since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to theexact construction and operation illustrated and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a container.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a container with a translucent ortransparent cover.

FIG. 3 shows an inside view of an embodiment of a container.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an object with indicia.

FIG. 5 shows another perspective view of an object with indicia.

FIG. 6 shows examples of indicia.

FIG. 7 shows examples of indicia.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the Enclosed Chamber of Chanceincluding the container, object with indicia, and translucent ortransparent cover.

FIG. 9 shows the Enclosed Chamber of Chance including a translucent ortransparent container, object with indicia, and translucent ortransparent cover.

FIG. 10 shows the Enclosed Chamber of Chance with playing cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, the use of “a”, “an” or “the” can refer tothe plural. All examples given are for clarification only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a container 1 is shown. The container 1 may becylindrical as shown, but may take on any other shape, including shapeshaving a circular, rectangular, triangular, curved, or other crosssection. The container 1 may be closed at one end and open at the other,such as a cup, or may be closed at both ends. The embodiment has nodimensional restraints and can be as large or small as the applicationrequires. In one embodiment, the container 1 is configured, shaped, andsized, to hold a die (that may be, e.g., 1 inch on one side) and toallow that die to move and/or rotate. The container 1 may comprise anysolid material, such as card stock, paper, plastic, metal, wood,ceramic, glass, and so forth. The container 1 may be translucent,transparent, or opaque.

Referring to FIG. 2, the container 1 includes a cover 2 that may betranslucent or transparent. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, both endsof the container 1 are closed or sealed, thus keeping any objectscontained therein secure. The cover 2 may be removable and attachable,such as by screwing it off or on, pulling it off or pushing it on(overcoming friction), and any other method known in the art forremoving or attaching a cover. Alternatively, the cover 2 may bepermanently sealed to the container 1. The cover 2 is shown flat, butmay take a curved shape, such as convex. Further, while both ends of thecontainer 1 (as shown in FIG. 2) are closed, one or both ends of thecontainer 1 may include a transparent or translucent cover 2.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, an object with indicia may comprise acommon die having six sides, each side having its own indiciacorresponding to, e.g., BET 5, FOLD 6, ALL IN 7, CALL 8, CHECK 9 andRAISE 10. Other options are BLUFF and TILT. These are merely examplesand the indicia may correspond to any decisions that can be made in theapplicable game. Further, there need not be six sides. For example, inthe game of blackjack, only four decisions are commonly made (hit,stand, split, and double-down), so a four-sided die may be appropriate.Within the scope of this invention are 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9, and10-sided dies, or more if necessary. In one embodiment, the object withindicia is a die with indicia representing the options a player of agame of chance would employ during the play of the game.

Referring to FIG. 6, a player playing poker would employ the EnclosedChamber of Chance with the object with indicia shown in FIGS. 4 and 5wherein the indicia BET 5, FOLD 6, ALL IN 7, CALL 8, CHECK 9 and RAISE10 may be the preferred indicia on the object.

Referring to FIG. 7, a player playing Blackjack, also know as “21”, mayemploy the Enclosed Chamber of Chance with the object shown in FIGS. 4and 5, except that the indicia have been changed to, e.g., HIT 11, STAY12, DOUBLE DOWN 13, SPLIT 14, STAND 15 and HIT 16. As another example,for a player playing Roulette, an object with indicia may includeindicia such as RED, BLACK, ODD, EVEN, 0, 00, or any other betpossibilities in Roulette, including 1-18, 19-36, first, second, andthird columns, specific numbers, and so forth.

Referring to FIG. 8, the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance may beemployed by a player of games of chance. The game may be played manually(such as a table game at a casino) or electronically (such as at a videopoker machine or online gambling), using customary equipment that wouldbe apparent to anyone skilled in the art and at least one player isplaying the game. The enclosed object preferably corresponds with thegame of chance the player is playing.

Referring to FIG. 9, the container 1 is a translucent or transparentmaterial, wherein the object with indicia can be seen from other viewsbesides the translucent or transparent cover 2.

Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker is played with cards 17 dealt to aplayer; it is the player's responsibility to not allow the dealer totake the player's cards 17 until the player's hand is finished. TheEnclosed Chamber of Chance, e.g. as shown in FIG. 8, is employed by theplayer by placing it on top of their cards 17 and therefore keeping thedealer from removing the cards 17 from the player before the player isfinished the hand.

Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker may be played by at least twoplayers wherein the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., shown inFIG. 8) may be employed when it is a player's turn to act. The playerwould shake the Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) and lookthrough the cover 2 to see what the indicia (e.g., FIG. 4) stated on theuppermost surface of the object. The player would then act accordingly,either by making his own decision or following the suggestion/prompt ofthe object with indicia.

Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker may be played by at least twoplayers wherein all players would employ the preferred Enclosed Chamberof Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) when it was their turn to act. The game wouldbe played according to customary rules, except that when the player wasable to make a choice as to how to play their hand, the player would berequired to shake the Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) and playtheir hand according to the outcome on the object with indicia.

Referring to FIG. 10, a card player employs the Enclosed Chamber ofChance, wherein the enclosed object is not an object of chance and hasno bearing on the outcome of the game, wherein the embodiment 1 is achamber to enclose any item that fits inside the chamber. For example,the container 1 could be used primarily to hold objects, such ascigarettes or a beverage, and to also place on top of cards to preventthe dealer from taking them.

The object with indicia is not limited to a die. It may include anydevice that, after shaken inside container 1, provides information or adecision/choice to a user. It may comprise any material, such as a hardmaterial such as wood, metal, plastic, ceramic, glass, paper, etc. Theobject may include flat surfaces on which the indicia are printed, andmay include sides that are parallel to each other. Thus, if the objectlands on a flat surface (such as the closed end of the container 1), acorresponding surface on the opposite side of the object faces up andincludes indicia that a user may utilize in his decision-making process.The object preferably has at least two such sides.

In one embodiment, a user may be provided with a container 1, aremovable transparent cover 2, and several objects, each objectcontaining different indicia corresponding to different games of chance.Thus if she wanted to play poker, she would place the poker object withindicia into the container 1, and then attach the cover 2. When it cametime for her to make a decision, she could shake the container 1 andthen stabilize it, allowing the object or die to settle. She could thenread the upward-facing instruction or indicia and make her decisionbased on that. She could also use the container to cover her cards toprevent the dealer from taking them.

When she decided to change to another game, such as blackjack, she couldremove the cover 2, remove the poker object, add the blackjack object(e.g., with indicia shown in FIG. 7), and re-attach the cover 2. Shecould then shake the container 1 whenever it was time to make adecision, look at the object inside, and make her decision at least inpart on the corresponding indicia facing her. She could have dies forpoker, blackjack, roulette, and any other game of chance that arereplaceable within the container 1.

In one embodiment, the indicia showing by the object are viewable onlyby the player, and in another embodiment they are viewable by allplayers. For example, the container 1 may be cylindrical in shape, andmay have a height greater than its diameter (such as greater than 1.5 or2 times its diameter), and may comprise an opaque material. Thus, itwill be difficult for another person to view the object from an angle,allowing the user to view the object by looking straight down throughthe transparent cover 2.

In another embodiment, one of the indicia may, e.g., be a decision thatis not directly related to the game, such as HUNCH. When these indiciacome up, the player may just play whatever decision he or she feels in ahunch. Other indicia unrelated to the game may be included, such as forhumor or entertainment purposes, such as SING. If these indicia come up,then the player may launch into a song, for the merriment of alllistening. This is one of thousands of possible examples—the point beingthat one or more of the indicia need not be directly related to the gameto which the object (bearing the indicia) applies.

In another embodiment, a container 1 may include two or more objects,such as two dice, each having indicia. Some people may prefer to maketheir own decisions most of the time, and only play by the chance ofdice if the dice are in agreement. For example, HIT and STAY are themost common decisions in blackjack. A single container 1 could containthree six-sided dice. Each die could include three sides printed withHIT and three sides printed with STAY, so that the chances of HIT orSTAY coming up are about ½ each. When the user shakes the container 1and the dice settle, he may only follow the instructions of indicia ifthey are all in agreement. For example, if he has an option to hit orstay, he may shake the container 1 and wait for the dice to settle. Ifthey all read HIT he may hit; if they all read STAY he may stay; if theydiffer, he may simply make his own decision. Since these particular dicewill agree about ¼ of the time, he makes his own decision ¾ of the time.Of course, it could include any number of dice (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or more),and each die could have any number of decisions/indicia.

Alternatively or in addition, the different dice could have differentindicia that are complementary. For example, in playing poker, one diecould look like that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, while a second die could beprinted with the numbers 1-6. If the word BET appears on one die and 4appears on the other, the user could then bet four units (e.g., fourchips of a certain denomination). If the word RAISE appears on one dieand 5 appears on the other, the user could then raise five units, and soforth. In other words, two or more dice or objects could be used withincontainer 1 that may not be identical but could complement each other,depending on the game.

Any of the embodiments and variations described herein may be “mixed andmatched” to the extent possible. All such variations are within thescope of the present invention.

In the present invention, the indicia on the object may include commandscorresponding to at least two of the following: all-in, bet, call,check, fold, and raise. That does not mean that these exact words mustbe used. For example, in blackjack, the words “stay” and “stand” aresynonymous. Thus, synonyms or synonymous phrases may be used. Also,translations into foreign languages may be used.

In other variations:

An enclosed chamber of chance comprises: an embodiment with at least onechamber; a translucent or transparent cover; and at least one objectwith a minimum of two sides enclosed inside the embodiment.

The chamber of chance may be used as an item to place on top of cardswhile playing card games. The object may comprise: at least athree-sided die, wherein the die moves freely while enclosed inside thechamber. The chamber or container may be made of a translucent ortransparent material.

The object may comprise indicia on the die representing words used whileinvolved in a game of poker, which include, but aren't limited to:all-in, bet, bluff, call, check, fold, raise and tilt. The object maycomprise indicia on the die representing words used while involved in agame of blackjack (also known as 21), which include, but aren't limitedto: hit, stand, stay, double-down and split. The object may compriseindicia on the die representing words used while involved in a casinogame of chance, which include, but aren't limited to: blackjack, poker,baccarat, craps and roulette. The object may comprise indicia on the diethat is at least one of the numbers zero through thirty-six, the numberdouble-zero and betting options available for roulette.

A method of playing poker may comprise: the object as claimed; and thechamber as claimed, wherein the player of any poker game uses theinvention as described to play their hand when it is their turn to play.The invention may include a geometrical object used in a game of chancethat offers the options players would normally make on their own.

1. A decision-making device, comprising: a container having an opening;an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movablylocated inside the container; and a cover attached to the container toclose the opening, wherein the indicia includes commands correspondingto at least two of the following actions in poker: all-in, bet, call,check, fold, and raise.
 2. The decision-making device as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the container is substantially transparent.
 3. Thedecision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container issubstantially opaque and the cover is substantially transparent.
 4. Thedecision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container iscylindrical in shape.
 5. The decision-making device as claimed in claim5, wherein both ends of the cylindrical container comprise substantiallytransparent covers.
 6. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 4,wherein exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises asubstantially transparent cover.
 7. The decision-making device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the cover is removably attached to thecontainer.
 8. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe object is permanently enclosed inside the container.
 9. A method ofmaking a decision, comprising: providing the decision-making device asclaimed in claim 1; shaking the device; and causing the object to movewithin the container.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprisingcovering playing cards with the device.
 11. A decision-making device,comprising: a container having an opening; an object with indicia, theobject having at least two sides and movably located inside thecontainer; and a cover attached to the container to close the opening,wherein the indicia includes commands corresponding to at least two ofthe following actions in blackjack and roulette: hit, stand,double-down, split, red, black, odd, and even.
 12. The decision-makingdevice as claimed in claim 11, wherein the container is substantiallytransparent.
 13. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11,wherein the container is substantially opaque and the cover issubstantially transparent.
 14. The decision-making device as claimed inclaim 11, wherein the container is cylindrical in shape.
 15. Thedecision-making device as claimed in claim 14, wherein both ends of thecylindrical container comprise substantially transparent covers.
 16. Thedecision-making device as claimed in claim 14, wherein exactly one endof the cylindrical container comprises a substantially transparentcover.
 17. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe cover is removably attached to the container.
 18. Thedecision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the object ispermanently enclosed inside the container.
 19. A method of making adecision, comprising: providing the decision-making device as claimed inclaim 11, shaking the device; and causing the object to move within thecontainer.
 20. The method as claimed in claim 19, comprising coveringplaying cards with the device.